A driver assistance system for avoiding collisions is known from EP 2 141 057 A1. This conventional driver assistance system may be designed for intervening in the steering system of the vehicle in order to steer the vehicle around a detected obstacle, as well as for merely informing the driver of the vehicle of an existing collision hazard and thereby surrendering a potentially required evasive maneuver to the driver.
If the known system is used for informing the driver of a collision hazard, it is of vital importance that the warning is issued sufficiently early for giving the driver the opportunity to react appropriately. However, the earlier the warning is issued, the higher the probability that it is unjustified and that the driver becomes accustomed to ignoring warnings of the driver assistance system.
If the driver assistance system is not limited to issuing warnings, but also intervenes in the steering system, it can be expected that the driver will no longer use such an assistance system as soon as it has unjustifiably intervened in the steering system at one point.